History of the Bark Hut Inn

The Bark Hut Inn as it stands today was built by Terry Baldwin former owner of Annaburroo Station. Baldwin came to Australia from New Zealand in 1950 seeking adventure. He travelled through outback New South Wales where a severe drought had killed many sheep. The locals wouldn’t touch them so Baldwin got permission to pluck the wool from the rotting sheep’s backs just as the price of wool skyrocketed as a result of the Korean War.

In 1963 Baldwin came to the Northern Territory where he bought Annaburroo Station. This was frontier country, the true untamed North of Australia where the land was full of Crocodiles, Barramundi and Buffalo.

Baldwin hand built the pub using ironwood and anything else he could find, with the help of the local Aboriginal people with whom he developed a strong relationship.

The establishment of Ranger Uranium Mine and Kakadu National Park in the 1980s saw the building of the Arnhem Highway past The Bark Hut Inn’s front door. This boosted the tourism interest in The Bark Hut Inn and is now a popular stop for thousands of tourists, travelers, workers and locals on their way to Kakadu or surrounding regions.

The Bark Hut Inn proudly celebrated 30 years of tourism in 2010 and serves as an ongoing reminder of the past prosperity garnered from the Australian Buffalo Industry and the spirit and determination of the brave men and women who pioneered the Territory Outback.